Leadership and Ethics: 2025 Update

A pre-recorded streaming VIDEO replay of the May 2025 webcast, Leadership and Ethics: 2025 Update.

An update from his 2024 course, Herb Rubenstein, author of Leadership for Lawyers, presents this seminar which is designed to teach you to think critically about the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct and general ethics principles to become a thought leader in the field of legal ethics.

In addition, you learn about the leadership strategies that work best for lawyers in the most respected law firms and legal organizations, in negotiations, in counseling clients, in litigation, and in guiding others to improve how they lead. Leadership is not taught as a course in law school, so this course fills an important gap to help you become a better lawyer by becoming a better leader.

Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct covered include:

• Rule 1.1 (Competence)
• Rule 1.6 (Confidentiality)
• Rule 1.7 (Conflict of Interest)
• Rule 2.10 (Third-Party Neutral)
• Rules 3.3 and 4.4 (Candor Toward the Tribunal and Respect for Rights of Third Persons)
• Rule 5.4 (Professional Independence of a Lawyer)
• Rule 8.3 (Reporting Misconduct)

A few updates for this 2025 seminar include:

• New trends in leadership in the relationship between leadership behaviors and power and authority given
• The difference between leading leaders and leading followers as well as how to avoid “micromanagement” and other poor management and leadership practices
• Ethical issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence and how it relates to Rule 1.1 (Competence) and the ABA Legal Opinion 512 (Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools)
• The new amendment to Rule 8.4 of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct adding paragraph (f) prohibiting agreements between lawyers and clients, limiting bar complaints by clients
• The role of the “Duty Judge” provided by local court rules for emergencies and how to get on the docket and practice in front of this judge

Herbert R. Rubenstein, HR Rubenstein Law / Lexington

Herbert R. Rubenstein, the author of Leadership for Lawyers (American Bar Association, 2nd ed., 2008) has taught at six universities and has taught online for more than 20 years for many organizations including Thomson Reuters, Bisk Education, CPA Academy, Virginia Law Foundation, and others. He has been an ethics consultant to lawyers, nonprofit organizations, educational organizations, government agencies, and companies.

Mr. Rubenstein is a Phi Beta Kappa/Omicron Delta Kappa graduate of Washington and Lee University, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to the University of Bristol, Bristol, England, where he received a graduate diploma in Social Sciences, was an LBJ Scholar and received his Master of Public Affairs degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas at Austin, and received his law degree from Georgetown University in 1982 and became a member of the Virginia Bar on October 4, 1984.

Mr. Rubenstein worked previously for the National Academy of Sciences, the American Institutes for Research, The US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Law Offices of Coroneos and Rubenstein. He is also the Co-Founder of The Web3 Company, LLC, a Virginia company, and a PGA member. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa/Omicron Delta Kappa from Washington and Lee University in 1970 and was captain of the golf team.